Cardinals TE Zach Ertz left Thursday's practice early and remained out Friday. HC Kliff Kingsbury said the veteran strained a calf, according to Jess Root of Cards Wire. We'll watch for further indications on the severity. Rookie TE Trey McBride (back) also missed a 2nd straight day of practice Friday.
The Cardinals let LB Jordan Hicks walk in free agency this offseason, clearing the way for LB Zaven Collins to enter the starting lineup in Year 2. He has been working there so far in training camp. According to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic, Collins and Nick Vigil have been the starting ILBs in the base defense. Collins has called plays in the huddle at times (green dot) but is also coming off the field in nickel and dime packages. "He's got to be able to diagnose it, see it and go, and not wait on the play to come to him," HC Kliff Kingsbury says. "I think last year he was kind of waiting for everything to unwind. I think he's still learning, but there's no doubt he's reacting faster than last year at this time." There's still time for Collins to earn more of a 3-down role, but we've moved him down our 2022 IDP rankings. The role uncertainty makes him a boom/bust fantasy option. Isaiah Simmons, meanwhile, has shifted to the "star" LB role, which will move him around the formation. Somers writes that he "seems to have a role in every package."
Packers S Darnell Savage sustained a hamstring injury in Friday night's practice, the AP reports. He downplayed the issue afterward, saying: "I don't think it's a concern. It's a fast-people injury. Some of those things you can't avoid. ... I'll be all right." We'd bet on the team proceeding cautiously in returning Savage to action. Vernon Scott stepped in for Savage on Friday.
Seahawks HC Pete Caroll was back with the team after a bout with COVID, and he had a Friday update on the QB competition: "Geno [Smith] continues to be on top. He's ahead. He's been in the lead for all of the obvious reasons and he's holding on to it and doing a really good job of battling." Carroll did add that there's still a good bit of time left in the evaluation process. "We need reps, we need turns to see more situations to really find any reason to see a difference between the guys," he said, according to The Seattle Times. So we won't consider it decided yet, but it does seem we need to consider Smith the front-runner at this point. His primary advantage is having been with the Seahawks since 2019. For fantasy football purposes, the winner of this battle only matters in superflex, 2-QB and DFS formats.
SNY’s Connor Hughes expressed concern over the Giants’ pass protection. “The pass protection, ever since the Giants strapped on the pads, is becoming a problem, Hughes wrote. “The severity of which has the potential to derail any [Daniel] Jones evaluation.” HC Brian Daboll admitted that this unit still has “a long way to go,” adding that he believes “they’re moving in the right direction.” We’ll see how this unit looks in preseason action. But it’s worth noting that they’re going up against one of the game’s most aggressive DCs in practice (Wink Martindale). New York’s also breaking in several new starters — including rookie RT Evan Neal.
Elijah Mitchell "continues to look like the clear-cut No. 1 option at RB" for the 49ers, ESPN's Nick Wagoner tweeted on Friday. That's been the consistent sentiment coming out of 49ers camp so far. Mitchell figures to lose some goal-line work to QB Trey Lance and doesn't project for a big role in the passing game. But he could still deliver value on his RB24 ADP.
Browns rookie K Cade York had his 1st miss of FG drills Friday, according to Scott Petrak of Browns Zone. That followed 17 straight makes. Cleveland drafted York in Round 4, so they should be counting on him entering the season as their guy. But it's nice to get early confirmation. York looks like a kicker we can mix in across fantasy football draft formats with relative comfort.
Bengals TE Drew Sample left Thursday's practice on a cart after hurting his left knee. HC Zac Taylor told reporters Friday that he's only expected to miss a couple of weeks, though, with a mild sprain. That should put Sample on track to begin the season on time. Sample played in every game last year but tallied only 15 targets. Sample has performed well as a pass-blocker, though. So any regular-season absence could hamper that area. The Bengals have also been without new RT La'el Collins, as he works through a back issue.
The Ravens PR staff released the 1st "unofficial" depth chart of the year Friday, with RB Mike Davis the top active player at the position. That still slots him behind J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, who remain on the PUP. Justice Hill, Corey Clement, Nate McCrary and rookie Tyler Badie follow, in that order. These depth charts are notoriously unreliable, especially ahead of preseason debuts for nearly all teams. We'll be watching to see if Badie -- in particular -- works in earlier once the exhibition contests get rolling. In the meantime, Davis is worth considering as a low-owned, end-of-draft option for best-ball tournament rosters.
Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News noted Friday that WR Darius Slayton was running with the 3rd team. That's a notable fall for a guy who has exceeded 80 targets twice in 3 NFL seasons. We already expected Slayton to be brushed aside in this year's offense, with Kadarius Toney and Kenny Golladay entering their 2nd Giants seasons and Wan'Dale Robinson arriving in Round 2 of the NFL Draft. Consider this a signal to not even look Slayton's way much as an end-of-draft flyer in best-ball tournaments. Slayton could be in danger of missing the Giants' regular-season roster.
Insider Jordan Schultz hears that the hamstring injury Bucs WR Mike Evans suffered in Friday's practice is "minor." We'll see when he's able to get back on the field, but we haven't moved Evans in the WR rankings.
According to Ravens beat writer Jamison Hensley, WR Devin Duvernay has missed 5 straight practices with a thigh bruise. Not ideal, but the nature of his injury leads us to believe he'll return soon. We’ll see if Baltimore adds a veteran WR, but for now, Duvernay is in the mix for the #2 job behind Rashod Bateman.
Panthers HC Matt Rhule said RB Chuba Hubbard has “really improved” his pass protection. It’s only relevant if Christian McCaffrey misses more time, but it’s a nice development for the 23-year-old after a lackluster rookie season. Currently, Hubbard is battling free-agent addition D’Onta Foreman for scraps behind CMC.
Bengals HC Zac Taylor said Friday that QB Joe Burrow is "day to day" after his late-July appendectomy. Burrow still isn't practicing but has been leading meetings, Taylor said. It doesn't sound like Burrow is in any danger of missing the start of the season, but it'd be nice to see him get in a few weeks of practice before the opener.
John Boyle of The Seahawks’ official site writes that RB Kenneth Walker has “shown off his pass-catching ability” in training camp. It’s noteworthy, as the rookie exited college with only 19 career catches in 3 seasons. Rashaad Penny is currently seeing the bulk of Seattle’s 1st-team reps, but this backfield has the potential to be fluid all season.
Panthers WR Terrace Marshall sat out practice on Friday with a lower leg strain. HC Matt Rhule downplayed the injury, and we’d expect the 2nd-year WR back before long. Marshall projects as the #3 WR behind D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson.
Cowboys OC Kellen Moore confirmed his plans to increase RB Tony Pollard’s role in 2022. “He’s a guy that we want to get the ball to,” Moore said of the contract-year back. “He’s had a ton of success when he does get those opportunities. I think the running back role is one thing, certainly when Zeke and him can kind of tag-team that role, but then it’s another opportunity for him to expand that role and play in some different positions, out in space and some of the things that certainly he’s capable of doing. I think the more we expand those roles, the more opportunities he’ll be able to get out there and get touches.” Pollard, with an ADP at mid-Round 7, is one of our favorite RB3 targets.
Bucs WR Mike Evans "tweaked" a hamstring in Friday's practice, HC Todd Bowles said. This doesn't sound like a serious injury, but we'll keep an eye on it. Evans has dealt with hamstring trouble in 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini calls Jets TE Tyler Conklin an “under the radar” player who’s “impressing the organization.” Cimini notes the veteran’s smoothness as a pass-catcher and ability to line up in several spots. Conklin is coming off a career-best 61-593-3 line in Minnesota, but he’s fully expected to share snaps with C.J. Uzomah this fall. Both guys project as inconsistent fantasy contributors.
Bucs WR Chris Godwin participated in positional drills on Friday for the 1st time since tearing his ACL last December. Here's video. "Very positive sign, but as one source says, not surprising," ESPN's Jeff Darlington tweeted. "This is 'on schedule' in terms of Godwin’s own plan for himself." It's still unclear if he'll be ready for Week 1, but we're expecting to at least see Godwin at some point in September.
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